Literary Terms Essay, Research Paper

Figurative Language -

Language using figures of speech, such as simile, hyperbole, metaphor, symbolism and personification to form imagery is figurative language. It is used to increase shock, novelty, appearance, or illustrative consequences.

Example- Shall I compare thee to a summer s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate

(Shakespeare, Sonnet #18)

Purpose- This is one of Shakespeare s many extended metaphors. He is comparing someone to a summer day, and in doing so he uses many comparisons. This example of figurative language makes a more intense effect on the reader.

Irony-

Verbal- This type of irony is when something is said while something else is actually meant, similar to sarcasm.

Example- Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man

(Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)

Purpose- This sarcastic remark is used to show that Brutus is actually the opposite of what is said.

Dramatic- Dramatic Irony is when the audience realizes something that the characters in a story don t know.

Example- O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,

Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!

Or that the Everlasting had not fixt

His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!

How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses of this world!

Purpose- In this soliloquy, we as the audience learn of his suicidal thoughts. Yet, no other characters in the story know about his hatred for Claudius or his wishes for death.

Situational- This type of irony occurs when what is expected to happen is different from the actual result

Example- In Hamlet, it is ironic that neither Hamlet nor the conspirators against him survive in the end. The victory of Hamlet is expected, not the death of nearly every main character.

Purpose- Shakespeare uses this irony to show that what happens occurs out of forces not under the control of the characters. It actually emphasizes the importance of fate.